Lie Down with Lions

Ellis, the American. Jean-Pierre, the Frenchman.... They were two men on opposite sides of the cold war, with a woman torn between them. Together, they formed a triangle of passion and deception, racing from terrorist bombs in Paris to the violence and intrigue of Afghanistan - and on to the moment of truth and a deadly decision for all of them.

Hornet Flight

It's June 1941, and the low point of the war. England throws wave after wave of RAF bombers across the Channel, but somehow the Luftwaffe is able to shoot them down at will. The skies, indeed, the war itself seem to belong to Hitler.

On Wings of Eagles

When two of his American employees were held hostage in a heavily guarded prison fortress in Iran, one man took matters into his own hands: American businessman H. Ross Perot. His team consisted of a group of volunteers from the executive ranks of his corporation, hand-picked and trained by a retired Green Beret officer. To free the imprisoned Americans, they would face incalculable odds on a mission that only true heroes would have dared.

Night over Water

On a bright September morning in 1939, two days after Britain declares war on Germany, a group of privileged but desperate people gather in Southhampton to board the largest, most luxurious airliner ever built - the Pan American Clipper - bound for New York.

A Dangerous Fortune

In 1866 tragedy strikes at the exclusive Windfield School when a mysterious accident takes the life of a student. Among the student's circle of friends are Hugh Pilaster; Hugh's older cousin Edward, dissolute heir to the Pilaster banking fortune; and Micky Miranda, the handsome son of a brutal South American oligarchy. The death and its aftermath begin the spiraling circle of treachery that will span three decades and entwine many lives.

A Place Called Freedom

This lush novel, set in 1766 England and America, evokes an era ripe with riot and revolution, from the teeming streets of London to the sprawling grounds of a Virginia plantation. Mack McAsh burns with the desire to escape his life of slavery in Scottish coal mines while Lizzie Hallim is desperate to shed a life of sheltered subjugation to her spineless husband. United in America, their only chance for freedom lies beyond the Western frontier - if they're brave enough to take it.

Fall of Giants: The Century Trilogy, Book 1

Ken Follett's World Without End was a global phenomenon, a work of grand historical sweep beloved by millions of readers and acclaimed by critics. Fall of Giants is his magnificent new historical epic. The first novel in The Century Trilogy, it follows the fates of five interrelated families - American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh - as they move through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women's suffrage.

The Whistler

Lacy Stoltz is an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. She is a lawyer, not a cop, and it is her job to respond to complaints dealing with judicial misconduct. After nine years with the board, she knows that most problems are caused by incompetence, not corruption. But a corruption case eventually crosses her desk. A previously disbarred lawyer is back in business with a new identity. He now goes by the name Greg Myers, and he claims to know of a Florida judge who has stolen more money than all other crooked judges combined.

Under the Streets of Nice: The Bank Heist of the Century

In 1976, Albert Spaggiari engineered the European crime of the century - a bank heist in Nice accomplished "without guns, without violence, without hate." Spaggiari and his gang of 20 men dug a 25-foot tunnel from the city's sewer system into the bank and lifted about $10 million in gold, jewelry, gems, and cash. Tracked down and captured, Spaggiari escaped from the French police by jumping out a window and onto the back of a motorcycle.

The Black Widow

Gabriel Allon, the art restorer, spy, and assassin described as the most compelling fictional creation "since Ian Fleming put down his martini and invented James Bond" (Rocky Mountain News), is poised to become the chief of Israel's secret intelligence service. But on the eve of his promotion, events conspire to lure him into the field for one final operation. ISIS has detonated a massive bomb in the Marais district of Paris, and a desperate French government wants Gabriel to eliminate the man responsible before he can strike again.

The Wrong Side of Goodbye: A Harry Bosch Novel, Book 21

Harry Bosch is California's newest private investigator. He doesn't advertise, he doesn't have an office, and he's picky about who he works for, but it doesn't matter. His chops from 30 years with the LAPD speak for themselves. Soon one of Southern California's biggest moguls comes calling. The reclusive billionaire has less than six months to live and a lifetime of regrets. He hires Bosch to find out whether he has an heir.

As the Crow Flies

When Charlie Trumper inherits the barrow his grandfather used to peddle fruit and vegetables in turn-of-the-century Whitechapel, England, he inherits his enterprising spirit as well. Charlie's deeply held ambition to raise himself out of the poverty of London's East End is destined to be realized, but there are many obstacles to overcome, including a tour of duty at the front in World War I, where he encounters the man who will become his lifelong enemy.

This Was a Man: The Clifton Chronicles, Book 7

This Was a Man opens with a shot being fired, but who pulled the trigger, and who lives and who dies? In Whitehall, Giles Barrington discovers the truth about his wife, Karin, from the cabinet secretary. Is she a spy or a pawn in a larger game? Harry Clifton sets out to write his magnum opus while his wife, Emma, completes her 10 years as chairman of the Bristol Royal Infirmary and receives an unexpected call from Margaret Thatcher offering her a job.

The One Man: A Novel

It's 1944. Physics professor Alfred Mendel and his family are trying to flee Paris when they are caught and forced onto a train along with thousands of other Jewish families. At the other end of the long, torturous train ride, Alfred is separated from his family and sent to the men's camp, where all of his belongings are tossed on a roaring fire. His books, his papers, his life's work. The Nazis have no idea what they have just destroyed. And without that physical record, Alfred is one of only two people in the world with his particular knowledge.

No Man's Land: John Puller Series

John Puller's mother disappeared nearly 30 years ago. Despite an intensive search and investigation, she was never seen again. But new allegations have come to light suggesting that Puller's father - now suffering from dementia and living in a VA hospital - may have murdered his wife. Puller is officially barred from working on the case and faces a potential court-martial if he disobeys the order, but he knows he can't sit this investigation out.

Publisher's Summary

EGYPT - where, hidden deep in the desert, a top-secret project to build a nuclear plant that will give the Arabs the bomb nears completion....

ISRAEL - where the Mossad's top agent, Nat Dickstein, a master of disguise and deceit, is given an impossible mission: to beat the Arabs in the arms race by finding and stealing 200 tons of uranium without any other nation discovering the theft....

RUSSIA - where top KGB officials have decided to tip the atomic balance in Egypt's favor....

ENGLAND - where Dickstein makes what could be the fatal mistake of his career by falling under the seductive spell of Suzie Ashford, the dazzling, dark-haired beauty who may be his dearest ally or his deadliest enemy....

THE HIGH SEAS - where the Mossad, KGB, Egyptians, and Fedayeen terrorists play out the final violent, bloody moves in a devastating game where the price of failure is nuclear holocaust.

One of the reasons I love historical fiction is how much it teaches me. Not only did I learn more about the KGB, the Mossad and the production of nuclear weapons, but I was never bored and up let several nights not wanting to turn it off. As always Ken Follet delivers interesting characters in extraordinary situations.

This book has everything a good espionage book needs. All the characters are believable and not over the top like most books these days. The book is narratted the plot is thick with intriguie esponionage and twists. All the action is gripping action. This is the type of listen you won't easily be able to stop when your commute is over

This is a follett classic and a must listen for anyone who enjoys books of this Gendre

I would recommend this to a friend who likes stories of cunning and intrigue over stories heavy with action and slick one-liners.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character was the Egyptian double-agent. I found his motivations fascinating. And I was very interested as he took actions that looked evil on the surface, but turned out to be necessary.

My favorite character to hate was the Egyptian spy who was working with the Russians. I found his character to be realistic and evil. The realism of him was enhanced in how I found his motivations to be completely unreasonable in my American mind, but to also be in complete agreement with many of the Middle Easterners that I have encountered in my life.

What does J. Charles bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

An Australian accent to a Cockney Englishman.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes it was. I was listening to it while I was in my workshop woodworking. When I was done, I continued to listen to it as I made and ate dinner. When I wasn't listening to the audiobook, I was thinking about it's twists and turns.

Compared to Follett favorites, Pillars of the Earth, World Without End, Hornet Flight, Code to Zero, Whiteout, and Jackdaws, this one falls short.

Both of the recent Audible additions I have tried, Eye of the Needle, and this one, are good - just not riveting stories.

Previous reviewers were too rough on the reader. He was decent to good. Yes, he butchers a few of the accents, but most readers do. His shortcomings where not annoying to me - as some can be unbearable.

Like Eye of the Needle this one teeters between average and good; 3-4 stars.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It caught our interest in the beginning even though it jumps back and forth in time and place with no warning.

Any additional comments?

Dickstein is a poor excuse for a spy. The reviews say he is expert at disguises, but he never changes his alias, accent, or disguise - even when he knows he's been blown! How stupid is that? Even in the era this takes place, predominantly the '60's, spies would be smarter and more cunning than he is. We are almost ready to ask for a refund.

I'm a big fan of Follett, but man, this was a slow one. The characters weren't very identifiable (hard to keep all the B list of characters straight), and the story was just average. The speaker also went too fast, so thanks Audible for the option to slow them down. Not worth the purchase.